Congress is once again facing backlash not for its sham ‘Chintan Shivir’ but because one of its giants; Sunil Jakhar has bid goodbye to the grand old party. And while parting ways, Jakhar vented out the pains that he had suffered while being a part of the Congress.
Sunil Jakhar bids goodbye to the Congress
Sunil Jakhar the man who headed the Punjab Congress for more than four years before being replaced by Navjot Singh Sidhu has bid his final goodbye to the grand old party.
Jakhar made the formal announcement public through Facebook live titled ‘Dil ki Baat’ from his Panchkula residence. While the Congress brass is bust in a three-day Chintan Shivir in Rajasthan’s Udaipur, efforting to revamp the party, ex-Congressman Jakhar said some golden words. Jakhar mentioned his last words as, “Good luck and goodbye Congress” and called it his parting gift to the party.
Jakhar shows mirror to the Congress
Jakhar while announcing his resignation from the party reserved a few words of praise for the Congress family that is the Gandhis. He called Rahul Gandhi a “good person”. He had earlier warned him to distance himself from ‘sycophants’. He advised Rahul Gandhi to learn to differentiate between friend and foe and asset and liabilities.
In his 35-minute-long Facebook live, he took jibes at several Congress bigshots “sitting in Delhi”, least to say that his main target was Rajya Sabha member Ambika Soni for her statement that the Congress should proceed with a Sikh face after ousting Captain Amarinder Singh from power. As until then, Jakhar was among the front-runners for the post of chief minister.
Once a loyalist to the Gandhi clan Jakhar also mentioned that Gandhi family’s presence was necessary for the Congress to function as one party. He discreditedCongress’ ongoing brainstorming session and called it a mere “formality”. He also said that if party was really serious about its pathetic state in the nation, it would have organised ‘chintashivir’ instead of ‘chintanshivir’ and it would have been more about ‘worry’ than ‘introspection’.
Read More- Congress’ ‘Chintan-Shivir’ is a sham
Jakhar’s decision comes after removal from all party posts
Jakhar was heading the state Congress until July 2021, when he was replaced by Navjot Singh Sidhu. He was at the loggerheads with the Congress top brass as the party issued a show-cause notice to him under disciplinary action taken on the basis of complaints of Punjab affairs in-charge Harish Chaudhary’s complaint to Sonia Gandhi.
Jakhar was removed from all posts on April 30 for “anti-parties” activities alleging that he had dented the party’s prospects in the assembly elections held in February 2022.
Calling the Congress’ handling of party affairs in Punjab a “case study”, Jakhar also cited the example of Ashok Gehlot to express his displeasure.
Sunil Jakhar is not a new Congressman who has left the party while looking for better opportunities and career prospects. The 68 year old man is a Congress giant whose family has been associated with the party for almost five decades. His father served as Lok Sabha speaker and union minister during Congress’ regime. Sunil Jakhar has himself served the party on several posts and is presently an elected MLA from Abohar in Fazilka district.
Read More- Sunil Jakhar and Ashwani Kumar could soon join the BJP
Sunil Jakhar; who paid the cost of being a Hindu in a Sikh majority state
Sunil Jakhar has been associated with the Congress since decades, still, he was ignored by the Congress top brass just for being a Hindu leader in a Sikh-dominated region. He was sidelined by the Congress’ high command to give the seat to a ‘Dalit Sikh face’. He had quit active electoral politics the day Congress announce Charanjit Singh Channi as its CM face for the Punjab elections.
His displeasure was understandable as he was the main contender for the post of CM when Captain Amarinder Singh was forced to resign.
Congress doesn’t know how to keep the flock together, the recent trend of defections shows that. Congress party is facing constant setbacks in the game of defections. And the exit of top-notches like Scindia and Jakhar should worry the party’s high command, especially the Gandhis.